We missed the Nov 1 confirmation hearings at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, so this is an OBE post. We are posting them below to easily retrieve the nominees’ prepared testimonies and provide a link to the video. We have also added links to the Certificates of Competency for Chiefs of Mission. Per Section 304 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, Certificates of Competency must be presented to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for presidential nominees to be Chief of Mission that demonstrate the competence of [a] nominee to perform the duties of the position in which he or she is to serve. Unfortunately, there is no such requirements for top ranking nominees in the State Department.

Mr.James Randolph Evans(certificate not available at state.gov as of 11/2/2017)Of Georgia, To Be Ambassador Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To LuxembourgDownload Testimony

Mr.Sean P. Lawler
of Maryland, To Be Chief Of Protocol, And To Have The Rank Of Ambassador During His Tenure Of ServiceDownload Testimony

Prepared statements and live video of hearing will be posted here when available. Hyperlinked below are the Certificates of Competency for Nominees to be Chiefs of Mission per Section 304 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980.

Ms.Jamie McCourtOf California, To Be Ambassador Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To The French Republic, And To Serve Concurrently And Without Additional Compensation As Ambassador Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To The Principality Of MonacoMcCourt, Jamie – French Republic and Principality of Monaco – August 2017

The prepared statements and live video of the hearings are available here. Hyperlinked below are the Certificates of Competency for Nominees to be Chiefs of Mission per Section 304 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980.

On Tuesday, September 26, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is holding a hearing on the State Department’s redesign efforts. You’d think that the chief sponsor of this entire endeavor, Secretary Tillerson would be at the hearing to answer questions from congressional representatives. But it looks like Mr. Tillerson is meeting the Holy See Secretary for Relations with States Paul Gallagher at the Department of State at 10:25 a.m.. That leaves his Deputy John Sullivan as “it” for the hot seat instead.

Chairman Royce on the hearing: “This hearing is the latest in our ongoing oversight of the State Department’s vital work. It will allow members to raise important questions about the State Department’s redesign plan, and help inform the committee’s efforts to authorize State Department functions.”

The American Academy of Diplomacy previously wrote to Secretary Tillerson requesting that the reorganization plan be made public and was refused (see Former Senior Diplomats Urge Tillerson to Make Public @StateDept’s Reorganization Plan). The group has now written a new letter addressed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee expressing its support for the “sensible streamlining and the elimination of offices and positions in order to promote effective diplomacy.” It also tells HFAC that it believes that “the Administration should reconsider the decision to declare its plan for reorganization “pre-decisional.” The Congress should ask that the plans to date and those to be considered be made available for public comment.” More:

The Academy believes certain principles should guide the reorganization.
–Change only those things which will strengthen U.S. diplomacy.
–People are more important than programs. Programs can be rebuild quickly. Getting a senior Foreign Service takes 5 to 20 years.
–As a rule, front-line personnel should be increased, although there are Embassies where there are more people, including those from other agencies, than U.S. interests require

It points out that the Foreign Service has a built-in RIF in its system:

The Foreign Service, as up-or-out service, loses about 300 – 400 FSOs and Specialists each year by selection out for low ranking, expiration of time in class, failure to pass over a promotion threshold or reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65. Only Foreign Service personnel are subject to world-wide availability. With their experience, capabilities and languages, they can be sent anywhere, anytime to meet America’s foreign policy objectives. Over the last 12 years the largest personnel increases have been the additions of Civil Service personnel in State’s Regional and, particularly, Functional Bureaus.

And there is this interesting request for clarity on potential appointees; are there talks that DGHR would be filled by a political appointee?

We believe the key positions of the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, the Director General, and the Dean of the Foreign Service Institute should be career Foreign Service Officers. The Director General, a position established by the Act, should be appointed from those that have the senior experience and personal standing to guide the long-term future of the staff needed for effective diplomacy. We respectfully ask that Congress get clarification as to whether it is the Department’s intention to nominate an appropriately senior serving or retired Foreign Service Officer for the position of Director General.

The group also writes that it “encourage the Congress to press hard for clarity about the objectives of this reorganization process: is the goal increasing effectiveness or rationalizing budget decisions?”

The SFRC is holding two hearings today, one for Ambassador Huntsman’s nomination to be the next Ambassador to Russia, and the second, Wess Mitchell’s nomination to be Assistant Secretary of State for the EUR Bureau.

The HonorableJon M. Huntsman, Jr.Of Utah, To Be Ambassador Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To The Russian Federation
His Certificate of Demonstrated Competence per Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4) is available here.

Panel Two

Mr. A. Wess MitchellOf Virginia, To Be An Assistant Secretary Of State (European And Eurasian Affairs)

The prepared statements and live video of the hearing will be available here.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding confirmation hearings for four State Department nominees today. The first panel has a one sole nominee, Eric M. Euland to be the Under Secretary of State for Management (see Trump to Nominate Top GOP Budget Aide Eric Ueland to be Under Secretary for Management #StateDept). The second panel includes two nominees for ambassador, both career diplomats: John R. Bass for Afghanistan, and Justin Siberell for Bahrain, and J. Steven Dowd, the nominee for The African Development Bank.

The prepared statements and a live video of the hearings will be posted here when available.

Panel One

Mr. Eric M. UelandOf Oregon, To Be An Under Secretary Of State (Management)

Panel Two

The HonorableJohn R. BassOf New York, A Career Member Of The Senior Foreign Service, Class Of Minister-Counselor, To Be Ambassador Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To The Islamic Republic Of Afghanistan

Mr.Justin Hicks Siberell

Of Maryland, A Career Member Of The Senior Foreign Service, Class Of Minister-Counselor, To Be Ambassador Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To The Kingdom Of Bahrain

Mr.J. Steven Dowd

Of Florida, To Be United States Director Of The African Development Bank For A Term Of Five Years

Nominees

The HonorableMichael Arthur RaynorOf Maryland, A Career Member Of The Senior Foreign Service, Class Of Minister-Counselor, To Be Ambassador Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To The Federal Democratic Republic Of EthiopiaDownload Testimony

Ms.Maria E. BrewerOf Indiana, A Career Member Of The Senior Foreign Service, Class Of Minister-Counselor, To Be Ambassador Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To The Republic Of Sierra LeoneDownload Testimony

Mr.John P. DesrocherOf New York, A Career Member Of The Senior Foreign Service, Class Of Minister-Counselor, To Be Ambassado Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To The People’s Democratic Republic Of AlgeriaDownload Testimony

A live video of the hearing and the prepared testimony will be posted here when available.

Per Section 712 of the Department of State Authorities Act, Fiscal Year 2017, the State Department is required to post the Certificates of Competency online within seven days of transmittal to the Senate. As of this writing, there is no report available online for Senator Hutchison.

Kathleen Troia McFarland, a prominent national security analyst, television commentator, political nominee and former senior U.S. Government official, has served as the Deputy National Security Advisor in the National Security Council at the White House since the advent of the Trump Administration. Ms. McFarland has a strong background in foreign policy, government service and political engagement. She was a Candidate for the U.S. Senate in New York in 2006 and for the U.S. House of Representatives, 12th District of New York in 2005. Her demonstrated ability to lead large, complex government institutions, engage effectively in high-level political endeavors, tackle numerous challenges with great intellectual acumen and clearly articulate U.S. government policy make her an excellent candidate for U.S. Ambassador to Singapore.

Previously, Ms. McFarland was a freelance national security commentator on Fox News in New York City and the District of Columbia (2013-2016) and occasionally made public appearances as a guest on other television networks (2007-2013). She served as a staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (1991), on the staff of the National Security Council (1970-1976), both in Washington, District of Columbia, and as a Senior Speechwriter and Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense, Arlington, Virginia (1982-1985). In the interims, she raised her family of five children.

Ms. McFarland earned a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, a B.A./M.A. from the University of Oxford, Oxford, England and a B.A. from George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia. She received a Distinguished Civilian Service Award from the Department of Defense. She is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.